John Dalli, a former Maltese economy and social affairs minister, will have more influence over public health policy than any of his predecessors when he takes up his post as the European Union’s health commissioner next month.

Mr Dalli has set out his priorities. He will press ahead with two relatively non-controversial pharmaceutical proposals already on the table: stepping up measures against counterfeit drugs and improving pharmacovigilance.

But he expressed strong concerns about controversial plans to allow drug companies to communicate directly with the public by allowing companies, under certain conditions, to publish information on their products in newspapers and magazines.

“We will reassess the package on information and bring more patient perspective to the proposal,” he said, adding that the reassessment would include stronger demarcation between information and advertising. “You do not want a situation where people in a vulnerable position can be coerced to purchase a product that may not be good for them,” he said

For full article, go to [1] http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/340/jan20_2/c353